The New York Times recently ran a cover story headlined “Housing Fades as a Means to Build Wealth, Analysts Says”. The article states that amassing your nest egg based on the appreciation of your home may become a distant memory.
Time will tell whether that prediction is accurate. What the article fails to mention is that prior to the real estate boom and double digit appreciation, a house was purchased to be a home, not an asset class.
A home provided a safe haven for the family and a place where memories were created. Holidays and birthdays were celebrated in the home and terms such as yield, appreciation and return on investment were confined to stocks and bonds.
The new reality is that homeownership may no longer be the ticket to easy money, but it remains the gateway to security and stability, the backdrop of family photographs, and the venue of your lifestyle.
As a trusted real estate advisor to thousands Houlihan Lawrence provides transparent information and a network of experienced agents with insight that help homeowners and buyers ultimately make informed decisions.
Ownership of a home represents different things to different people. Do you think of your house as an investment vehicle or a home for you and your family?
The health of the real estate market continues to be a hotly debated subject. Quantitative data, such as months of inventory, is a useful metric to determine supply and demand.
Conventional real estate wisdom equates the following with months of inventory:
1-4 months inventory means there are more buyers then sellers.
5-6 months inventory means the market is balanced with a healthy number of buyers and seller
7+ months inventory means there is an oversupply of product, with more sellers than buyers.
The following chart lists the schools districts in Westchester County that showed the greatest decrease in months of inventory from July 2009 – this is a positive indicator and a sign of a more robust market when compared to the same period last year.
What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, Ardsley had 67 months – or 5 ½ years worth of inventory.
Our Market Report for Westchester County single-family homes is now available with July 2010 sales figures. To see the market activity for other school districts in Westchester County, visit HoulihanLawrence.com and go to the Local Market Reports at the bottom of the page.
To thrive in times of great change, successful companies challenge old assumptions, debate new strategies, and sharpen their thinking about all aspects of their business. The best companies have a dynamic business strategy, and are capable of innovating and growing regardless of market conditions.
Few industries have experienced as much change, both cyclical and structural, in the past 5 years as real estate. At Houlihan Lawrence, our strategy for the new market reality has been a simple one: 1) increase the transparency of market information to our buyers and sellers; and 2) empower our agents to develop true advisory relationships with their clients, helping to make informed decisions about real estate.
While the strategy is not complicated, executing it has required a lot of work from everybody in the organization – our management team, our staff, and of course our agents, who must deliver on our client commitments every day. In the past year alone, through one of the worst real estate markets in our lifetime, we have rolled out a brand new “Web 2.0” version of houlihanlawrence.com; an advanced technology platform, Client Connect, that enables our agents to deliver real-time market information to their clients; and created dozens of new ways for our agents and the public to tap into the wealth of market data that we collect daily.
It is very gratifying to see the market rewarding our efforts in 2010 with substantial increases in market share across virtually all the communities we serve. Consider these numbers:
Houlihan Lawrence now has a 39% market share in dollar volume for Westchester single-family homes, up 7 share points from 2009.
In the luxury market segment, Houlihan Lawrence now has a 50% market share of homes with a sold price of $1 Million and above, an increase of 7 share points over last year, and a 60% market share of homes sold for $2.5 Million and above, an increase of 11 share points over last year.
In Putnam and Dutchess counties, our market share has grown by 3 share points over last year to 27% and 14%, respectively.
Source: WPMLS and MHMLS; January1 through July 31, 2010
While it is encouraging that we seem to be heading in the right direction, holding on to these market gains will require that we continue to innovate and respond to our clients’ changing needs.
Tell us what you expect from a real estate broker. What could your agent do to help you better navigate today’s real estate market?
Single women are one of the fastest growing home buying segments of the market according to a recent study by the National Association of Realtors, outpacing single men by almost 2 to 1. Women more frequently purchase a condo or townhouse/rowhouse than a single family home and expect to stay in the home 10 years. The single female buyer’s first home is typically smaller than that of a single male’s.
The reason single women purchase a home is their desire to own. They have the financial means to purchase and do not need to wait to co-own with Mr. Right. Parity in the workplace has trickled down to the real estate market, giving women the ability to independently satisfy their need for shelter and security.
For home sellers, this growing segment offers an opportunity to market your home with a woman’s needs in mind: the safety of a home and neighborhood are paramount and simple enhancements such as well-lit exteriors help to create a sense of security when arriving home in the dark. New is better than old because it requires less repair and maintenance; and larger closets are a sure way to a capture her attention.
Are you a single woman in the market as a first-time home buyer? What features are important to you in your home search?
The Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University just released a study projecting home improvement spending will increase by 5% this year. According to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), this would be the first annual increase for home improvement since 2006.
This nationwide study cites a stabilizing housing and job market, and increasing consumer confidence as contributing factors to this significant uptick in spending. However, the difference between a home renovation in 2010 vs. the boom years is a practical and prudent mindset. Today, new counter tops, appliances and floors are enough to update the kitchen, unlike a few years ago when a new kitchen meant super-size me with additional square footage, custom cabinetry and restaurant quality appliances.
Other energy efficient home improvement projects include creating a home with better insulation, geothermal heat pumps, and water heaters. The Federal government’s Energy Star program issues tax credits for certain energy saving home improvement projects.
Are you considering a home improvement project this year?
Houlihan Lawrence COO, Chris Meyers, discusses the current buying trends in the high-end home market in this video from Forbes.com. See what Chris has to say about where bargains exist in the local housing market here in Westchester County.
The cover story in the Spring issue of Westchester Home magazine features the home of Todd Goddard, a real estate agent for Houlihan Lawrence, who specializes in the marketing and sale of modernist iconic homes in Westchester County. As the proud owner of a recently restored Skidmore, Owings, Merrill modern home in Armonk, Todd both lives and sells the mid-century modern lifestyle.
Mid-century. Modernist. Contemporary. These words are being spoken with a new found popularity and appreciation for the clean and simple lines that define this architectural style. As both a Westchester real estate agent and expert on this era, Todd’s studied eye allows him to market and sell modernist homes by speaking to the design elements that are emblematic of the period. His expertise and first-hand knowledge of modernist homes – not to mention his personal experience from his own restoration – resonates with buyers.
Todd’s love of architecture is not confined to the merely modern, though it is his current passion. He appreciates all significant architectural styles, and has a bird’s eye view into a variety of home styles as a realtor.
Do you have a love of modern homes? Tell us what your experience has been buying, selling or renovating.
As we all know, interest rates have plummeted to historical lows in recent months. Average long-term interest rates remained below 5% throughout March 2010. That is well below the 6% average that we were seeing in 2008, not to mention the lowest rates seen in decades. All good things must come to an end (clearly not said by anyone from the optimistic Emerald Isle) and we have already seen rates climb over 5% to an 8 month high of 5.25%.
So what does the future hold for interest rates? As I am NOT clairvoyant with a crystal ball I can only look to the past to try and get an indication of what the future holds. History shows that periods of significantly low interest rates are generally followed by sky-high rates. Case in point: From 1970 to 1972, 30 year fixed mortgage rates hovered around 7.25% before leaping to 10% by the end of 1973. Murphy’s law applies here (Murphy was a well known pessimist in Ireland ), when rates move downwards, it is typically a slow creep to the downside. However, when rates rise, it is typically violently quick to the upside.
So why are rates rising?
Good economic news is one reason that rates are rising: Government debt, a safe bet during the recession is losing its appeal as stocks and corporate bonds are becoming the investments of choice by investors.
The Federal Reserve has ended its program of buying Mortgage Backed Securities. When the Fed was buying, rates were in the mid 4% range for most of last year. Today, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the national average for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is 5.31%.
For people putting their home on the market this spring, rising rates may actually be a good thing. Buyers are racing to complete their transaction for two main reasons
Buyers want to lock in their interest rate before they go higher.
Buyers want to have a signed Purchase Agreement in place before April 30th in order to qualify for the (up to) $8,000 Tax Credit offered by the U.S. Government.
I am expecting a frenzied last two weeks in April as there will be a near panic (in some cases) to meet the April 30th deadline. As a seller, price your home right as you will not have time to “test the waters”. As a buyer, get pre-approved and lock in your interest rate before it is too late.
Everywhere you go these days, you hear about Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all sorts of other social media. Of the many social networking websites, these seem to be the most popular, at least for now. They have become important business tools for real estate firms and professionals and Houlihan Lawrence was an early adopter.
Houlihan Lawrence started using social media in early 2009. We created a company blog, a Facebook Fan Page, a Twitter account and an agent blog site . Additionally, our home tours are on YouTube. It seems like every day we’re finding ways to use social media as well as new places to post real estate news and real estate market statistics.
Real estate has always been a relationship business and social networking is a perfect way to extend and enhance those relationships. Social networking is now a part of our comprehensive marketing strategy, “Reaching every buyer, everywhere”.
One could almost get entirely lost in the social media bubble but let’s not forget the most important part of social media – being social. It’s great to make connections online, but it’s even better to meet someone IRL – In Real Life.
Until we meet, feel free to follow us on twitter and friend us on facebook. You’ll get up to date market statistics, great area information and tips about buying and selling your home. If there is specific information we can help you with just send us a tweet or pose a question on our facebook page.
A survey recently found that women are three times quicker in making a real estate decision than men … women decide intuitively while men are more measured and methodical.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news and market trends in your area. 
A monthly e-newsletter featuring fresh market data, our most amazing properties and candid insights from our COO, Chris Meyers.